Bobby Hoult, Associate Creative Director Pharma at john st. talks about how regulated industries can make social media work for them.

1. social media for
Bobby Hoult
regulated industries
April 5, 2012

2. a “core conversation” with
Glenn Engler
+ CEO, Digital Influence Group
+ full service digital marketing
agency with social media at the
core
+ various big-name acronym clients:
P&G, IBM, HBO, GE, HP, EA
+ loves the word “fascinating”
+ @glennengler
johnst.com 2

3. regulated industries
+ any industry or market where you
can’t say what you want to say
because there are extra rules and
regulatory bodies to annoy the crap
out of you and your clients.
johnst.com 3

4. regulated industries
+ any industry or market where you
VED
absolute can’t say what you want to say
APPRO
because there are extra rules and
NOT
regulatory bodies to annoy the crap
out of you and your clients.
unclear disparaging
johnst.com 3

5. what opportunities
and challenges do
these brands face
in social media?
johnst.com 4

6. pharmaceuticals

7. pharmaceuticals

8. finance

9. finance

10. food & beverage

11. food & beverage

12. ugh.
why bother?
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13. passion points
There are more vibrant conversations
going on in these 3 categories than
any other.
+ drugs, health and wellness
+ money and investing
+ eating, drinking and cooking
johnst.com 12

14. 3 simple truths
to get your
brand started
in social media
johnst.com 13

15. if you want to get
anywhere, make friends
with legal
+ often, they are brought into the loop
so late that they have no choice but
to say “no” to your project
+ involve them early on
+ give them a line of sight on where
you want to be, and let them help
you get there
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16. you do have content. you
just need to make it
consumable
+ you’re sitting on a mountain of
communications that are approved
by legal/regulatory
+ translate them into something
social
+ categorize to help decision-making
on the fly
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17. people are talking about
you. go where those
conversations are
+ find the channels where the richest
conversations are happening
+ know when to switch channels to
circumvent regulatory barriers
+ 30% of the time, doctors change
their diagnosis after reading
content online
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18. “but, i’m scared”

19. shhh. just listen
+ be a creeper
+ start with social listening tools
+ when you hear what people are
saying, you’ll want to jump in
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20. “people will say things
that i don’t like”

21. get over it
+ you can’t manage conversations
+ you can add value to them
+ build a relationship by creating
conversations around unregulated
topics
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22. “my brand promise
will go viral!”

23. no. it won’t
+ don’t spend more time talking to
yourself than to your customers
+ be a brand journalist
+ focus on what consumers want to
hear, not what you want to say
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24. wrapping it all up
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25. regulated brands
can go social
+ listen
+ plan
+ execute
+ enable
“nobody talks about paint, but
everybody loves to talk about
painting and colour”
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